Apollo and Ema: The Baby Chronicles
by EvilWaffleS
Summary: Ema and Apollo are having a baby. This is the story right from when Ema finds out she's pregnant to when she has the baby and watching the baby grow up. Please read the update...
1. Finding out about the pregnancy

She held the test up to the light. She couldn't believe it, the little pink cross.

"It can't be…" She whimpered.

She pushed the test into her bag and rushed back to work.

She made sure Klavier wasn't around when she called her sister.

"Lana, I need you to take me to the doctors." She whimpered.

"Why honey, are you sick or something?"

"Huh?...uh…a little yeah…it's important too." She was distracted now.

"Well ok, wanna call Apollo and let him know honey?"

"N-no!" She blurted out. "P-please don't make him worry about me."

"He loves you though, he's bound to worry."

"Please, promise me Lana and I need an appointment after work tonight."

"Alright, I'll pick you up from the scene." She put the phone down.

She was distracted throughout the afternoon.

"Hey baby." A shadow overcast her.

"Apollo!" She jumped up and hugged him. She gave him a brief cheeky kiss while Klavier wasn't looking.

"Something wrong baby? You look a little pale Em." Apollo smiled softly.

"Nnrk! Uh…yeah, yeah I'm fine." She nodded.

"Herr Forehead! No evidence sharing!"

"Grr, sorry honey." Ema let him go. "I'm going to be a little late tonight; I'm going to go with Lana for a coffee. If that's ok of course…"

"Why are you asking?" Apollo smiled. "Of course, you don't need to ask. Remember?"

"Alright." She smiled. "Sorry."

"Anyway, I've gotta go. I'm picking Trucy up from school."

"You need to tell Wright you're a lawyer not an errand boy." She giggled.

"Well it gives me something to do." Apollo shrugged.

"I guess."

"Oh and tell Gavin I'm not even the lawyer in this case." He yelled out so Klavier heard him. "I love you."

"Love you too." She kissed him before kneeling down and carrying on taking footprint moulds.

-x-x-

"So what's the matter?" Lana asked as she drove her sister to their doctor.

"Nothing, just a bit of stomach ache." Ema lied. "Just want to see what's happening, it's probably nothing."

"If you say so. So how are things with you and Apollo?"

"He's so lovely to me, he treats me like a princess all the time now I live with him." Ema blushed.

"Told you he was the one." She smiled.

"You're in the wrong job Lana. Forget chief prosecutor of the district you can open a new business – 'Lana's matchmaking service'." Ema giggled. In a brief few moments she forgot about that test.

"Good afternoon Ema." Her family doctor smiled warmly. "I haven't seen you in a while. I hear you got a man!"

"Yeah…" Ema smiled.

"So what can I do for you?"

"I need you to promise what I say won't leave this room, not even to my sister."

"We doctors aren't allowed to discuss our patients with anyone." She assured. "So can I help?"

"I need you to confirm something for me…" She reached into her bag. "I need you to check if this is right?"

"Is this what I think it is?" The doctor took it.

"A pregnancy test."

"Alright…"

Ema sat quietly for a couple of minutes before her doctor returned.

"The pregnancy test isn't lying, you are indeed pregnant."

Ema started to cry. To the outside world it was hard to tell if it was from joy or sadness but on the inside she was truly happy. She wanted a baby, she loved Apollo and she knew he was the one for her.

…Only has was she going to tell him?...

It _had _to be special. This was their first child after all. Besides, Apollo's a special guy.

"How far gone…am I?" She sniffled.

"4 weeks honey." The doctor smiled handing her a tissue.

"Thanks." She wiped her eyes, grateful she hadn't worn any make up.

"This man of yours? Will he want a baby?"

"Oh yeah. I don't doubt that." Ema smiled. "Alright, thanks doc I'll leave you to your patients."

-x-x-

"Everything ok then honey?" Lana asked as she drove Ema back to Apollo's.

"Yeah, just a bit of stomach ache, she said it will go on its own."

"Good, for a moment I thought it was a serious issue you had." Lana sighed.

"Stop worrying about me." Ema smiled.

"Apollo!" Ema ran into his arms.

"Hey baby." He kissed her before looking to Lana.

"Hello Apollo." Lana smiled. "I've got to be off, by the way – I want to invite you two to dinner on Friday evening. The kids are going to Jake's parents so we've got the house to ourselves."

"I'd love too." Apollo smiled.

"Same here." Ema let go of him and turned back to her sister.

"Cool, seven o'clock and Jake's cooking so don't be late!"

-x-x-

When she found out she was pregnant it was a Monday. Now it was Friday and she still hadn't found a way to tell Apollo. She tried to get him alone at work – she'd managed it once. She sat on her lover's lap and kissed his neck. As she was about to move up to his ear to whisper her news to him, Trucy burst in. She leapt off his lap after Trucy started whining.

"God! Get a room!" She whined.

Knowing she couldn't tell him at the office she tried to tell him in the privacy of their bedroom in their own home. It was too difficult, it didn't feel right and she had no idea how to break it to him.

-x-x-

She'd got out of the shower and Apollo had jumped in after her. The bathroom was an en-suite so it made her conscious when she talked to herself as she knew Apollo could hear her (she'd been caught a few times before). She stood in front of the floor length mirror and undid her towel then fastened it back around her waist. She stared at her stomach and unconsciously began to touch it.

"Something amazing is going to happen inside me…" She whispered quietly. She heard the shower being switched off and continued to stare at the naked top half of her body in the reflection.

"Something wrong?" Apollo asked as he pulled her back gently into his arms.

"No, not really." She smiled.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" He whispered.

"I love you." She moved one of his hands down so it was wrapped loosely around her stomach. She smiled.

"I love you too." He kissed her neck. She twisted round and wrapped her arms around his neck, she pushed her lips against his and pulled his head forward into the kiss.

-x-x-

"Hey Em, hey Apollo!" Lana welcomed them in. "Come in and take a seat in the living room." She kicked a teddy away from the couch and offered them the seats.

It was the dinner that would make her say she was pregnant...

"Would you like a drink?" She offered the two bottles of wine to Apollo.

"White please." Apollo smiled. He took the glass from Lana's hands. "Thanks." He took a sip.

"Ema?" She offered her a glass of red wine.

_I can't drink alcohol if I'm carrying a baby… _she gulped.

"No thanks." Ema declined as politely as she could.

"Come on Ema, you're not driving." Apollo smiled.

"…Uh…" She took a deep breath. "Lana can I just talk to Apollo outside for a moment, I need some air." She took Apollo's hand and led him out into the cool night air.

"Something wrong?" Apollo asked as he took her hands.

"I can't drink that wine."

"Why?" Apollo asked soothingly, realising she appeared upset.

"I wanted to tell you when we were alone but…I didn't go for coffee with Lana on Monday…I went to the doctor's."

"Why are you sick?" Apollo asked alarmed.

"…I'm pregnant…" She whimpered before crying again.

"We're having a baby!" Apollo exploded with joy then held his crying girlfriend in his arms.

"You're not mad?"

"Of course not! We're having a baby Ema!" She smiled, wiped her eyes and clung to him.

"I love you and I know you'll be a great daddy."

"I know you'll make an amazing mom too."


	2. Weeks 5 and 6: morning sickness!

"How come you didn't tell Lana?" Apollo asked as he joined Ema on their bed.

"Well…I want it to be our little secret." Ema smiled. "Thanks for buying me out of the wine thing."

"No problem." Apollo helped her to remove her shirt and pull her pyjama top over her head. "I'm going to treat you like a queen now." He kissed her neck gently. "…You do realise you'll have to tell them eventually though, right?"

"Sure, when I show." She felt as he knelt behind her on the bed and moved his hands down to her stomach. "Do you think it will be a boy or a girl Apollo?"

"I'm happy either way." He nuzzled her neck before letting her lay down.

The prospect of parenthood was one Apollo had never even considered before meeting Ema, not even other relationships he had been in for a long period of time.

-x-x-

"Ema! There's a letter here for you." She emerged from the bedroom, dressed in her pink pyjamas and joined him at the breakfast bar. She took the neat handwritten letter from her boyfriend's hands.

_Ema,_

_I bought a scanner from a friend of mine at the hospital. I thought you might like to take a look at the new life growing inside of you, even though at this early stage there probably isn't much to see. I've also made arrangements for you to go for a twelve week scan._

_I will give you those details when you arrive at the surgery. Could you come to the surgery at: 10 a.m. on Friday the 2__nd__._

_Thanks, Dr Smith_

"Apollo, what day is it?"

"Friday, why?" He asked as he offered her a slice of his toast.

"Do we both have the day off?"

"You do, I don't. Why baby?" Apollo leaned against her arm so he could read the letter.

"It's from my doctor, she has a scanner at the surgery and she wants to use it on me so I can see my new baby growing inside me." Ema smiled as Apollo wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her towards him gently.

"Would you like me to come? I'm not doing much today." Apollo offered.

"No baby, just promise you'll come to my twelve week scan." She kissed his forehead. "What time is it?"

"Eight."

-x-x-

"Good morning Ema." The doctor smiled as Ema pushed open the door. "Please come in."

"Thanks doctor." Ema closed the door.

"Take a seat on the bed over there." The doctor wheeled her chair over to the side of the bed Ema had taken a seat on.

"What are we going to be able to see?" Ema asked.

"Hm…well it's week five, so it's going to be a baby, not just cells. Only it's going to be very, very tiny maybe only a millimetre or two long. Its heart will be beating though." The doctor assured. "And this lovely machine here can enlarge the image of the baby inside of you, so we can take a look." She smiled.

"This gel's quite cold Ema." The doctor warned before emptying some of the gel onto her stomach. Ema yelped at the coldness on her stomach. "It's ok, let's take a look shall we?"

"There we go." Sure enough there was a tiny little life inside of her.

"Aww, it's so tiny!" Ema cooed.

"Indeed it is. Cute, huh?"

"Yeah…" Ema sighed happily.

"I always wanted to do this job when I was training at the hospital." The doctor smiled.

"So what's happening with the baby right now?" Ema asked.

"Well, as you can see the baby is already starting to form, the heart is starting to form into chambers and beginning to beat. Plus, its nervous system starts to develop and perhaps its bone and muscle." The doctor moved the scanner from Ema's stomach.

"Thanks doctor." Ema smiled.

"Did you tell your partner?" The doctor asked as she wiped the gel from Ema's stomach.

"Yeah, a few days after you confirmed I was pregnant." She sat back up and rolled her shirt back down.

"How did he take it?"

"He exploded with happiness." Ema giggled. "It was kind of weird."

"Good, I'm glad." The doctor leaned back in the chair. "So, have you experienced any changes? Nausea or fatigue?"

"No, not really…I'm a bit bloated I guess."

"Well, I contacted the hospital and this is for you." She offered the paper to Ema.

-x-x-

"How'd it go?" Apollo asked as he came home that evening.

"Great! There wasn't much to see though." She kissed his cheek.

"There had to be something."

"Well yeah, a little tiny baby which is starting to develop to _look _like a baby with a tiny little heart." Ema was blushing.

"I can't believe it. When is your twelve week scan? I promise I'll be coming with you." He hugged her gently. "I'm going to take you shopping, we can get some stuff to make you more comfortable."

"Thank you!" She squeezed him tight. "I want to pay as well though." He pressed a finger to her lips.

"No you're not. We're going to save for some baby stuff but I want to buy you stuff to make you comfortable." She kissed him gently.

"I'm hungry, what's for dinner?" Ema asked.

"Depends what you're hungry for." Apollo joined her in the kitchen.

-x-x-

The following week marked week six. It was the early hours of the morning and Ema was awake. She felt a little sick. She glanced down at Apollo asleep beside her before crawling out of the bed and into the bathroom.

Introducing, the morning sickness!

"Em?" Apollo had been woken by the light shining through from the bathroom. "Em! Are you ok?"

"Y-yeah…" She murmured. Apollo wasn't convinced. He crawled out form under the sheet and knelt down beside her in the bathroom.

"Morning sickness?" Apollo smiled as he rubbed her back.

"Yeah." She shuddered before standing up. "Isn't it a bit early?"

"No, I don't think so." Apollo took a glass from the medicine cabinet and filled it with water. "Drink up."

After a couple more hours sleep Apollo was moving around the house. He was in the kitchen making Ema breakfast – pancakes with lashings of whipped cream and bananas. He poured her a glass of orange juice and placed it on the tray as well.

"Morning baby." Apollo placed the tray on the table at the side of his bed before nudging her gently.

"…Mornin'…" She yawned.

"You hungry? I made you breakfast." She stretched her limbs before sitting up.

"My favourite!" She giggled. "I wish I could have a cup of coffee though…"

"I know, I know…" He whispered. "How about I quit with you too? No more coffee or alcohol."

"Really?" She looked at the plate of food before looking at him. "Thanks, hey do you want some?"

"No thanks baby. Just stay here and enjoy your breakfast." He kissed her cheek. "I'm gonna grab a shower."

As soon as she finished her breakfast she made her way across to her digital scales.

"Something the matter?" Apollo asked as she stared at the digits on the screen.

"I've gained five pounds…" She whispered.

"Well you _are _pregnant." Apollo reminded.

"I know but I'm six weeks gone! I'm gonna look like a whale by the time I give birth!" She whined.

"It doesn't matter, I'd rather the baby was protected inside you." He kissed her neck and she giggled – leaning back into his arms. "You do realise I'm dripping wet, right?"

"So." She giggled. "I'm going to get changed, are we going shopping today?"

"Sure."

"Can we have a look at some baby stuff too? I know I'm only six weeks but…"

"Of course baby. Let's make sure you're comfy first."

She could feel those five pounds she'd gained too, her jeans were getting tighter. Perhaps she should ask Apollo to take her shopping for more comfortable clothing.

* * *

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	3. Week 8: Cravings and a baby bump

"Apollo. Can you pick me up from work?" Ema groaned.

"Sure baby, why? What's happened?"

"I ate a Snackoo and I keep being sick!" She cried out.

"Aright then, sit tight. I'll be there in ten minutes." Apollo assured.

It was week eight now. Apollo had bought her loads of new clothing and special cushions and pillows to keep her relaxed at work and home.

"Look can I take the rest of the day off I feel so ill!" She complained at the chief. "And I keep being sick!"

"You didn't look to good this morning when you came in." The chief mused. "Of course."

"Thanks, Apollo's coming to pick me up."

"Alright." The friendly chief smiled.

-x-x-

"I don't know what happened! I had a strange urge to want to eat sweet things. So I ate a Snackoo and ten minutes later I was sick!" She cried.

"Alright, alright. Maybe we should get you something else sweet to eat…" Apollo soothed.

"Thanks." She smiled as she watched him rooting through the fridge and cupboards.

"We have yoghurt and chocolate."

"Can I have a glass of milk too?" Ema suddenly wanted milk.

"Sure."

He was trying to be as involved as he could in the pregnancy. He wanted to make sure his girlfriend was as comfortable as possible and he was always happy to do stuff for her. He still wanted to be more involved – sure, he was going to her scan with her next month but he still wanted to be more involved.

"I don't think there's much more you can do…" Ema whispered as she undid the lid on the yoghurt pot. "I mean…you've been the best for me. You drop everything to help me when I'm not feeling good or I'm in pain and you sit with me at night and talk. It's not like you've left me to fend for myself." Apollo leaned against the arm of the couch, Ema shifted so she was sat between Apollo's legs, leaning back against him.

"I know but you're the one with the baby inside of you." He wrapped his arms around her stomach. "You're the one putting up with all these changes and the sickness and everything. I'm still me, nothing amazing is happening to me…"

"Sure it is." She dipped the spoon into her desert. "You're looking after me and you have feelings for the baby so that means you're developing daddy instincts." She licked the spoon clean and waited to feel the sickness in her stomach.

"Everything ok?" Apollo asked.

"Yummy! Yeah that's better." She loved it when he wrapped her hands around her stomach, she felt like there was a bond between her baby and him already.

"I think your cravings have started. Sugar huh?"

"Seems that way." She whispered. "Oh and 'Pollo, you're being the best you can be, please don't worry about it. I couldn't wish for a better man." She yawned.

"Bad night again?" Apollo asked, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Yeah a little bit, got really bad headaches again."

"Maybe we should ask about that when we go to your scan…" Apollo smiled softly, his warm breath tickling her skin.

"Yeah I guess so. At least I'm comfy with that pregnancy pillow thing…"

"I like that, I laid on it earlier that thing _is _comfy!"

"Hands of my pillow! You don't have a baby to support!" She laughed.

"Sorry. Want an early night tonight?"

"That sounds good." Ema finished of the yoghurt and started on the chocolate.

"Cool I could do with some sleep too. I've been studying case files for two days now, I've got them on the brain!" Apollo smiled softly. "So, do you want some dinner or will the choccie bar do?"

-x-x-

She was staring at herself in the mirror the following morning. Apollo had told Phoenix he was working from home because Ema was sick and Ema had begged her chief for the day off.

"Something the matter?" He asked as he was getting changed.

"I have a bump. See." Sure enough she was starting to look pregnant. "I don't think I'm going to hide it from some people."

"Maybe people that have had kiddies before, like your sister."

"I want her to be one of the first to know…if that's ok?" Ema asked, rubbing her stomach. "I feel ready to tell her."

"Yeah." Apollo smiled and nodded.

"Maybe we should go to dinner with her later? She's still on maternity…"

"How old is Madeline then?"

"She's eight months now." Ema smiled. Madeline was her sister's youngest child. "I'll ask her to bring baby Maddy actually..."

"Why? Want to fit some practice in?" Apollo teased.

"Hey!" She pushed him back on the bed. "Meanie."

"Ow! Ok I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

When Apollo was making breakfast Ema kept asking for milk and yoghurts again.

"Cravings." Apollo smiled.

"Leave me alone!" She whined. "I really want coffee!"

"You can't baby!" Ema made her way to her cellphone.

"I'm going to call Lana."

"Sure."

-x-x-

"Hey!" Lana hugged her sister and Apollo, baby Madeline was in her stroller giggling.

"Hello." Apollo knelt down by the stroller and tickled the baby's tummy. The baby giggled and smiled – it lifted Ema's spirits too.

"So, shall we grab a table?" Lana asked.

"Sure." Ema took Apollo's hand and lead him to the counter to get a table.

"A glass of water, a cola and a vodka and cola please." Apollo ordered.

"Water Em?" Lana tilted her head.

"Yeah, I need something easy on my tummy."

"Really? Are you still not well?" Lana asked, glancing down at the slight bump in her sister's stomach.

"No I have some news." Ema smiled. "I…" She was smiling but crying. "A-Apollo, tell her, please."

"We're going to have a baby!" Apollo declared.

"Congratulations!" It took a few moments for the words to register but Lana exploded with joy. "How far gone are you baby?"

"Eight weeks, I didn't want to say until I started showing…" Ema lowered her head but smiled brightly when she saw Apollo's hand resting on her stomach.

"You're showing already? Wow!" Lana smiled. "Mind you, I didn't show until pretty late with baby Madeline and with Neil."

"So are you mad for me not telling?" Ema whispered.

"Come here Em." Lana stood up and wrapped her arms around her baby sister.

It took Ema back to all the times in her past when she needed sisterly love like this. Her sister gave the best hugs.

"I'm going to be an auntie! Oh this is so exciting!" Lana clapped.

"You're the first person we've told." Ema smiled. "So please don't tell anyone else."

"I won't honey, you have my word as a fellow mom."

Throughout the dinner Ema asked Lana questions that had been bugging her.

"So have you had any cravings?" Lana asked curiously.

"Sugar. I want sugar all the time." Ema replied. "Frozen yoghurt, yoghurts, chocolates – anything sweet."

"Wow, lucky. My cravings were gross." Lana giggled.

"Did you go off foods too?" Ema asked.

"How so?" Lana asked.

"Did some foods you love make you ill?"

"Sure, I couldn't drink milk or eat red meat when I was pregnant. That's why I eat a lot of fish and chicken now." Lana looked to her baby and Apollo feeding her the baby food. "Why do you ask?"

"I ate a Snackoo and it made me sick…" She sulked.

"Don't worry about it honey." Lana assured. "Apollo you can take her out the chair if you want…"

"How can I get more involved with Ema's pregnancy too?" Apollo asked as the baby giggled excitedly and wriggled in his arms.

"Well, what do you do now?"

"He does everything!" Ema declared.

"Hm…did you think about prenatal classes Em?" Lana asked.

"No…I'm not even sure what they are."

"Well, it's where couples or single moms go. They teach you how to bond and how to be comfy and how a man can help. They can even help you with the birth." Lana smiled. "Me and Jake went to some when I was pregnant with Neil, he felt more included after."

"There you go, we can go to some of those." Ema smiled. "I still think you do more than enough."

"Apollo, you're going to make a good dad – I can tell because Ema's smiling so much and even baby Madeline seems relaxed around you." Lana smiled. "So when's the first scan?"

"I've already seen the baby when I went back to the doc's but Apollo and me are going to the twelve week scan next month." Ema was excited now.

So, Ema's got a bump and urges for sugar. That night when she lay with Apollo she knew they both felt like they were bonding with her baby already.


	4. Week 12: The first scan and the nursery

It was the day of the twelve week scan. Ema had continued to gain weight and she _definitely _looked pregnant now. Everyone knew she was pregnant now and she revelled in the attention she got from the people around her.

"I don't really want to drive, I'm worried about a seatbelt pushing into my stomach." Lana was ready to give them a lift to the hospital.

"Honey, there's a sack of fluid protecting your baby in there."

"So I won't hurt it?"

"Of course not."

Ema was still getting ready. Apollo had been up bright and early – this was the first opportunity he would have to see his child growing inside his girlfriend.

-x-x-

"Are you sure you don't want me waiting around?" Lana asked as she dropped them off at the hospital.

"No it's fine." Ema assured her. "I'll let you know what happened!" She took Apollo's hand and led him into the hospital.

"Good morning, you must be Miss Ema Skye." The woman showed her to the chair before her.

"That's right." Ema nodded, taking the seat. "And this is my boyfriend, Apollo."

"Pleased to meet you, take a seat." She pulled a chair round so he could sit beside her.

"Thanks."

Ema yelped as the cold gel was poured onto her stomach.

"I'm sorry about that." The woman smiled as she reached for the scanner. "Your doctor told me you took a look at the baby when you were six weeks, correct?"

"That's right."

"There we are. Hello…" The woman fell silent. "Lookie, there's two." Ema and Apollo stared at the screen.

Sure enough, there was not just one moving figure in there, there was two. There didn't look like there was much room in there with two of them.

"There was one when I went for the scan!" Ema looked to Apollo, who's eyes were glistening.

"The other one was probably still developing. Mighty cute, huh?" The woman smiled. "Congrats!"

"They're so beautiful!" Apollo squeezed Ema's hand and she smiled at him. "Just like you…"

"So are they ok? Are their hearts beating and things?" Ema asked excitedly.

"Yep, perfect and strong, I can tell you their gender if you like. Although it will not be with 100 percent certainty."

"Do you want to know?" Apollo looked to Ema.

"Not yet." Ema shook her head.

They could have just stared at that screen together for hours. It was magical, watching those two tiny little figures pushing each other and moving ever so slightly inside Ema.

"Hm…" The nurse mused. "That's interesting…"

"What?" Ema and Apollo turned round and stared hard at the woman.

"Nothing bad. I'm just interested in this here…" She pointed to a few lines near the top of the image. "I think I'd like you to come back in another four to eight weeks if that's ok?"

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Ema asked.

"I'm sure." She assured.

"W-well ok then." They made another appointment for two month's time.

-x-x-

"I can't believe I'm having twins!" Ema hugged him as soon as they got out. "What do you think that shape was though?"

"Looked like a baby's arm or a head to me." Apollo let her go. "You hungry?"

"Yeah!" He took her hand and began to walk towards the city.

-x-x-

The following morning Ema was sat in her sister's office, telling her the good news.

"Twins?"

"Uh-huh!" Ema smiled brightly.

"Aww I'm so proud of you!" She wrapped her arms around her baby sister. "So what else did she say?"

"She pointed to a shape just above the babies and said she wanted me to go for another scan in a couple of months to investigate it." She rubbed her hand across her stomach unconsciously. "I'm so excited!"

"How did Apollo act?"

"He could have just stared at the screen for hours. I think I'll go to some of those classes you told me about, Apollo wants to be more involved."

"You should. Normally you take the birthing when you're about seven months pregnant, you can go to ones before that - ones that teach you how to make yourself comfortable and you can make friends with other expecting moms and couples." Lana passed Ema a bottle of water. "Since you're carrying twins it would teach you how to cope with more than one baby at the same time."

"How do I get them?"

"Get in touch with the doc." Lana suggested. "I wish Jake was as supporting of me during my pregnancy at first, I think he was just as scared as I was though."

"Baby Neil's worth it though." Ema giggled.

"I know. He keeps asking when he'll see his auntie Em again."

"How old is he now?"

"Five."

"Well, if you want me and Apollo to baby sit for you one night give us a call!"

"I'll bear it in mind." Lana watched as Ema glanced down at her stomach. "Something wrong?"

"Huh? I think one of them just booted me or something…"

"Babies move in there Em, they're just getting excited because you are!"

"Oh…ok." Ema smiled, glad nothing was wrong.

-x-x-

Two weeks later, Lana was at the door, her four children at her side.

"Come on in Lana." Apollo stepped to the side. Ema was sat in the kitchen, munching on a chocolate bar. "Thanks for this you two."

"No problem." Apollo smiled. "It'll be good to get some practice."

"Haha, they won't be any trouble."

"Auntie Em!" Neil ran straight to his aunt. "Are you having a baby too?"

"I'm having two." Ema smiled.

"You can have more than one at a time?" He asked wild eyed. "Can I touch your baby?"

"Sure honey." The little boy gently pressed a hand to her bump.

"What's this…" Lana noticed the spare bedroom had a sign labelled 'baby'. "A nursery? Can I take a look?"

"Sure, go on ahead." Apollo offered.

-x-x-

Apollo had been working hard. Not only was he taking care of Ema, taking care of all the chores and cooking he had also been decorating the spare room ready for the new arrivals. It didn't matter to him that they still had six months to go, he wanted everything to be perfect for the babies when they were born.

Lana opened the door and flicked the light. The room had been decorated with a fresh coat of paint and had been stripped of the old bed and ancient built in wardrobe. Across the walls were several pencil markings. Lana inspected one of them and recognised it as a dragonfly, the one beneath it flowers. There were many doodles of all sorts of things.

"What do you think?" Apollo asked.

"Have you drawn all these?" She asked as she ran her hand over one of the images.

"Yep. I'm not done painting yet…I just did the white so I could do my drawings, then I'm going to paint around them." Apollo smiled.

"And he won't let me see!" Ema yelled in from the other room.

"Really?"

"Not until I'm done decorating." Apollo smiled.

"You didn't strike me as the artsy type." Lana smiled. "Or a handyman."

"I'm not the best in the world but I'm trying my hardest."

"Heck honey, My daughters would love a room like this." She smiled. "Be good for Apollo and Auntie Em, ok kids?"

"We will!"

Apollo took one last look at his nursery and smiled.


	5. Week 16: Birthday kicks

"Four months pregnant on your birthday huh?" Apollo smiled. "Well, no going out on the town this year. So what would you like to do instead? A party here maybe?" He began to shed his paint coated clothes.

"I don't really want a party." Ema yawned as she curled up on her pillow.

"So what _do _you want?" He knelt down beside the bed and put a hand to his girlfriend's ever swelling tummy as he leant in and kissed her.

"A quiet night in with a hand cooked meal?" Ema suggested.

"If that's all you want…" Apollo seemed surprised.

"You seem shocked." Ema commented as her boyfriend stood back up and continued to shed his clothing. She admired him from behind for a while before adding "Why should everyone else come here and get drunk and whatever else for my birthday when I can't?"

"Touché." Apollo smiled.

"That's all I want I swear." She yawned again. "If it's ok with you, I think I'm going to have an early night."

He pulled the covers up so she was warm. She wrapped herself into them.

"Alright. Goodnight Em." He kissed her. "Goodnight babies." He held his hand on her stomach for a few brief moments.

"I think they like it when they hear your voice." Ema whispered. "Goodnight Apollo."

"Night, sleep well." He then switched out the lights and closed the door gently behind him.

Ema was almost four months into her pregnancy, although her ever swelling stomach made it look like she was far closer to the end. Although, it was to be expected – she was carrying more than one child in there. She was getting sleepier everyday, she was eating more and more chocolate and yoghurts than before too.

Apollo didn't mind when she chose to have an early night. He knew she was feeling the effects of the extra pounds and the unborn babies draining her energy, it did get lonely for him at night though. Still, he would manage.

-x-x-

"So, what are the plans for the b-day little sis?" Lana asked as her and Ema wondered through the high street.

"Quiet dinner with Apollo." Ema replied, breaking a chunk off the chocolate bar she had in her bag.

"No parties?"

"Why should everyone else get the pleasure of being drunk when I don't?" Ema reminded her sister and rubbed a hand across her stomach.

"I guess so." Lana turned to her sister. "I'm thirsty, fancy a drink?"

"Please."

"So, you went to your first class with Apollo didn't you?" Lana smiled as she stirred the sugar into her drink.

"Yep!" Ema mumbled through a mouthful of cookie.

"How'd it go?"

"It was amazing!" She covered her mouth to stop crumbs. "Apollo was getting really into it, he listened to everything the lady said."

"What did she say?"

"Well, first of all she asked me and him a few questions: When was I expecting? Was I carrying more than one baby? And all that stuff." Ema took another bite of her cookie. "Then she asked me and Apollo to sit down with these other mom-to-bes and their partners. Then she started going on about what a man could do for the woman."

"Let me guess, the three R's as I call them – Reassurance, Respect and Remaining by her side?" Lana recited.

"How did you know that?" Ema asked.

"I went to the same place you're going to now."

"Oh…right." Ema nodded. "Anyway, she carried on for a while then came and sat with me and Apollo. She taught him something he can do to soothe me and the babies when I'm in pain or stressed."

"Hm? What's that?"

"He's supposed to rub the sides of my bump in gentle circles then move his hands closer and closer towards my stomach. I'm not sure why or how, but it works!"

"Good."

They drank their drinks and carried on shopping. When they were in a restaurant several hours later ordering dinner Ema began to press gently on her stomach.

"Lana…what does a baby's kick feel like?" She asked shyly.

"Well, it's really hard to describe…why?"

"I think one of the babies just kicked me…"

"Come here…" Lana pressed a hand gently to her stomach. "That's a kick alright. Soon they'll be boxing in there." Lana smiled. "Have you felt it before?"

"Yes but I didn't know what it was…"

"Well, you can go home to Apollo now and tell him the babies are kicking in there." Lana was smiling even brighter than before. "Jake loved it, he said they were already little trouble causers for us to deal with." She looked to her baby daughter. "He was really excited too."

-x-x-

The day of her birthday Ema had only been working for half a day. She hadn't told Apollo about the babies kicking yet.

When she returned home that afternoon she expected to be alone. Instead she was faced by a paint coated Apollo.

"Why aren't you at work?" She asked.

"No cases. Told Phoenix I'd be more useful at home for the day. He told me to give you these." He closed the door to the nursery so she couldn't peak in and crossed the room to the kitchen. He pulled two pink parcels and two cards from the side. "This is from Phoenix." He handed her the bigger parcel. "And this one's from Trucy."

"Aww!" She tore the wrapping from the parcels.

In Phoenix's parcel was a couple of sets of baby clothes, both plain white with pictures of animals on and a deluxe bar of chocolate from the local chocolate makers. In Trucy's parcel was a photo album labelled 'My baby's first year'. When she opened Trucy's card Trucy had written she would have to put both the babies in the shot. In the very front of the photo album there was a section labelled scan pictures.

"That's so sweet." Apollo smiled. He watched as Ema found the scan picture from her three month scan and slid it into the first slot in the album.  
"I love them, tell Phoenix and Trucy thank you." She kissed him. "I'm going to grab a shower."  
"Sure." Apollo held her for a little while before releasing her to go in the shower. As soon as he knew she was in the shower he went back into the nursery.

He was faced by the finished product, which he had been working on for two hours a night for the last six weeks. He flicked the light off, that room – the nursery was his gift to Ema for her birthday. When he left the room, he remembered to lock the door tight (he'd fitted the lock so Ema wouldn't be able to get in until it was done). He returned to the bedroom to change into more suitable clothes that weren't coated in paint.

-x-x-

Ema could smell Apollo's home cooking and she was trying to resist the urge to turn around, run into the kitchen and eat the food before it was cooked.

When she'd got out of the shower the bed was covered in rose petals, along with a small red piece of folded card wrapped in gold ribbon. On the outside cover it said 'menu for the girl I love' on the front. She untied the ribbon as soon as she got hold of the card.

Inside was the three course menu Apollo was cooking up for her birthday.

It started with a spicy squash soup – Ema's favourite starter at a restaurant they frequented before she fell pregnant. Next came one of her favourite types of fish in the world – red snapper. For desert he was making her a chocolate and banana cake. As soon as she'd finished reading said menu she rushed out to hug Apollo.

Several hours later he was almost finished with the starter.

"Here we go." He lowered the bowl to the table before her. "Enjoy baby."

"Thanks." Ema smiled. "You know…I think I prefer birthdays like this now I have you." She took a sip of her drink before trying the soup. "Being with friends is fun and all, but being with my babies' dad is better." Apollo smiled softly before tucking into his bowl of soup.

-x-x-

"Hey Apollo, when can I have my birthday present?" Ema asked as she joined him on the sofa.

"Haha, right now if you want." Apollo smiled, wrapping his arms around her. "Say what was that?" He felt something move inside Ema.

"Lana said the babies are kicking." Ema moved her boyfriend's hand slightly further down so he could feel it better.

"Wow…" Apollo whispered, taking in the fact that he could feel his two children moving inside her.

"My present?" Ema urged.

"Oh right." Apollo stood up and helped her up from the couch. "Ok, hold still for a minute." He found his tie and covered her eyes with it, using it as a blindfold.

"What are you doing!"

"I don't want you to peek is all, don't worry I'm gonna look after you."

He guided her across the room to the nursery.

When he got her into the room and removed the blindfold Ema knew she was crying.

The room was decorated in pale pastel shades, depicting flowers and animals on a pale background. It wasn't Apollo's artwork that caught her eye first though, it was the furniture. Two cots had been built up, the instructions still laying in the first and there were wardrobes and drawers for storing clothes. Across each of the two cots were handmade mobiles which Apollo had asked a friend of his to create. He had built up the furniture from flat packs.

"Happy birthday!" Apollo laughed as he felt Ema hug him with enough force to push him backwards.

"This is the best present ever!" She squealed.

"There is one other thing…" Apollo reached under one of the cots and pulled out a small package and a card.

_To the girl I love,_

_I want you to know how proud I am of you. You make me the happiest man alive and I know you'll be the best mom ever to our Babies when they're born. I know everyone else gave you things for the baby put this present is just for you…_

Inside the package was a jewellery box with a beautiful gold ring embossed with the words 'To the girl I love – Apollo xx' on the inside. In the middle was set a sparkling gem.

"I'm so proud of you." Apollo whispered in her ear.

"Best birthday ever!" Ema declared.


	6. Six months: Winter's Vengence

**It feels nice now I'm getting back into the swing of writing stories again! As always please leave a review as I like reading what others think of my work. Thanks!

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**

Now Ema was huge – she was self conscious and Apollo loved to tease her about it. He was only playing of course, and she knew it too.

It was winter now, temperatures were plummeting and Ema was having difficulty finding clothes that would fit over her ever growing baby bump. She was feeling the effects of cold and pregnancy anyway.

"How are you feeling?" He knelt down beside the bed, a mug of warm milk in his hands.

"Tired…" Ema yawned, wrapping herself into the sheets more.

"You've been like this for a while…are you sure you're not sick or something?" Apollo whispered. She had been struggling to find the energy to even move and Apollo had noticed she had been a lot warmer as of late.

"…Think I should go to the doc?" She sneezed.

"Yeah, I don't want you or the babies getting hurt Em." She smiled to herself and lifted her weak arm and wrapped it around his neck. "Sleep well ok." He smiled, kissing her lips gently.

"Night Apollo." She whimpered.

He left her to sleep in the warm bedroom before returning to the living room where a mug of cocoa awaited him.

"I hope you're ok…" He whispered to himself. "I know you're stubborn and all…I think you know you're sick but you don't want to admit it, do you?"

He didn't want to make her worry so he decided to clear his mind of his worry.

-x-x-

He was asleep on the sofa when he heard her moaning.

"H-huh?" Apollo woke to the sound again. "E-Ema!" He panicked.

She was in a shivering slump on the bed.

"E-Ema! Ema wake up!" He cried.

"I-it h-hurts so bad!" She whimpered weakly.

"I'm calling the hospital."

-x-x-

Her condition had worsened at the hospital, she was being hooked up to a series of machines to monitor her and her unborn children.

"W-what's happening to m-me?" She cried out.

"You have the flu, it's quite bad too." The nurse said calmly. "We're going to look after you and your babies."

"M-make it stop!" She sobbed. "P-please don't let anything bad happen to them!"

"We won't. We promise." The nurse assured.

She looked to Apollo, who was crying.

"Why are you crying?" She whimpered as the pain got less.

"I don't want anything bad to happen to you, or the babies…"

"You're going to be the best dad ever." She felt weak as a machine was filtering her blood. She had developed a deadly strain of flu and it was all the hospital could do to ensure her and her children's survival. "I'm strong though…I'll pull through." She tried to force a smile.

"Yeah, yeah of course you will." Apollo smiled, brushing a lock of her brown hair from her eyes.

"Is Lana going to come?"

"Soon, I called her a while ago." He pressed a hand gingerly to her bump. "I hope they are ok."

"They will be, they're our kids of course. Look at what we've been through…"

She coughed and cried as pain worsened.

"Good morning Miss Skye." Her doctor yawned. "I wasn't expecting to see you for a while, let alone at three in the morning but when I heard about your illness I rushed in." The doctor was one she had become familiar with in the last two months as she frequented the hospital to have stress levels monitored. Just in case her stress pushed her blood pressure up. "This must be that lovely boyfriend of yours…"

"Y-yeah…god this is really painful! How long do I have to keep going with this?"

"A while yet I'm afraid." She looked at Ema's chart. "According to this, you were supposed to have your scan this week…no?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, how about we take a look at them now, check your flu hasn't hurt the poor little things?"

"Will you check what that shape was too?" Apollo asked, suddenly remembering.

"Of course. We will give Ema here a couple of hours to get her strength up after her treatment first however."

-x-x-

It turned out that was a lot easier said than done. Ema was sick of people fussing over her, rather than the unborn children in her womb. She hadn't meant to get sick but it seemed to her like everyone thought she was still more important than the two babies currently growing inside her. Except for Apollo, who hadn't slept in days as he continued to worry sick for his lover and their children.

"Feeling better?" He asked as he took a sip from the orange juice.

"Yeah, much better than I have been." Ema laid back and continued to look at the ceiling. That was one painful ordeal, spending days having your blood filtered. Still, she had to admit she was feeling much healthier and her unborn babies were much more settled than they had been.

"You had me worried sick, you know that?"

"I know…I'm sorry. I know I'm stubborn and I should have gone to the doctors after those headaches came back." Ema looked at the window but turned back to Apollo has she felt his hands around her own.

"Yes you ARE stubborn but I love you for it. Just next time I'll say I told you so." Apollo smiled, resting his head gently against her stomach, listening for movement.

"Anything happening in there?" Ema smiled.

"You tell me, you can feel everything they do."

"They love hearing your voice, they do kickboxing inside me when you're not around."

"Aww, they love mommy too, just daddy's a little more special." He teased.

"Shut up!"

"Good morning Miss Skye, you seem much better today." The doctor smiled.

"Yes thanks." She nodded in response.

"I think we should take a look inside you to check the little troopers are doing ok from the flu recovery." Ema shuffled up the bed and lifted the cheap hospital pyjamas to reveal her swelling bump.

This time, there wasn't one, nor two…there were three!

"Stop giving me scans!" Ema protested. "They keep multiplying in there!"

"This must have been the mysterious shape." The doctor giggled. "Well, looks like your boyfriend there needs to build another cot." Apollo smiled looking at the much bigger and better developed babies inside his girlfriend's womb.

"I can tell you what you will have if you'd like?"

"No thanks. We'd like to keep it a surprise." Ema was still recovering from the fact she was carrying triplets rather than twins, so Apollo spoke for her.

Once the doctor had left visitors flooded into the room.

"Three, geez Apollo, those little swimmers of yours know where to go. Don't they?" Klavier winked. Only to be met by a swift punch from the pregnant detective on the bed.

"Very funny boss." She growled.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. P.S. Question suggestions for 'When was your?' would be greatly appreciated. Please P.M. them to me or leave them in a review. Thank you!**


	7. Premature birth

She would be glad once her children were born now. Everything was ready for them, the room ready, some clothes purchased and house baby proofed.

"I wish they'd just come out now…" Ema whispered as she snuggled up beside her boyfriend.

"I know, I know." He soothed.

It was hard to imagine that five weeks ago, he was worried he was going to lose not only the three unborn children in Ema's womb but Ema herself.

He made sure everyday to tell her how much she meant to him and how much she had changed his world every day since she was admitted into the hospital. She had changed his world in a way he thought wasn't even possible. When he was younger he had always said that he'd never learn how to love someone unconditionally – yet that was how he felt about Ema. Better still, she was carrying his children – three tiny lives whom he would adore – three tiny lives he could give a family, parents, something neither he nor Ema had.

Ema wasn't as open with her emotions as Apollo. It had taken her a long time to tell him about what happened to her parents, and about growing up with Lana playing mum for her. She did this to prevent dredging up bad emotions. Yet she too made sure she told Apollo how much she loved him every day and every night before she slept, she made sure to wish her babies a goodnight too.

She sat with an old children's book she had been given by Lana when she was still little. It was a book called the Gruffalo, which Lana had bought back from a trip to England. Ema was reading it aloud, Apollo listening intently too, as she realised her and him talking (in this case reading) soothed the children.

"Sorry Apollo, I just need to go to the toilet." She felt the urge to go suddenly. In fact, in the next ten minutes she was up and down constantly.

"I'll call a hospital!" Apollo called into her as she cried out for him.

She cried out as contractions started.

"Lana! Lana! It's Apollo! It's starting, what do I have to do to keep her calm until the ambulance gets here?" Apollo yelled into the cellphone.

"Tell her to keep breathing! Keep her calm and make sure she breathes deep breaths." Lana was much calmer than Apollo.

-x-x-

"Where is she going?" Apollo asked alarmed as Ema was taken away.

"Sit down Apollo." The kindly doctor assured. "We're taking her to theatre, she needs a caesarean."

"I want to be with her!" Apollo tried to push past.

"Come here." She took his wrist and led him into the room next door to the theatre. "As soon as those babies are born we'll bring them through here on the way to the care unit."

"T-thanks." Apollo whispered.

It seemed like forever, being sat there, twiddling his thumbs. Twenty minutes into the c-section there was a panic outside the door.

"W-what's happening?" Apollo cried out.

"Something's gone wrong with Ema, look we'll make her better, I promise."

"The babies! Where are they? How are they?" He asked, heartbroken and afraid.

"They've been taken right to the unit. They're going to be ok, they just need a little help is all."

He cried.

Alone in that room, he cried.

He cried until the others came to comfort him. They masked their own fear for Ema and the babies to help him.

-x-x-

"I think she's coming to." The doctor smiled. Apollo rushed to his feet to see Ema. Trucy and Phoenix got up to follow him.

"No." Lana put her arm out to stop them. "Let them be alone for a while."

"But-!"

"Trucy…" Lana said sternly, the same way she spoke to her own children.

She was still out when Apollo came and sat down beside her. Without the three children in her stomach she certainly looked a lot slimmer than she had been before. He was still crying.

"I nearly lost you…" Apollo took her hand, certain that he wouldn't hurt her if he did.

"Mmm…" She blinked. "…'Pollo? I'm hungry…" She smiled.

"Y-you're what?" Apollo smiled. "You've had your babies, I nearly lost you and…you're hungry!" Apollo laughed, still crying.

"Where are the babies?" She tried to sit up but Apollo held her down.

"I think its best you stay lying down, and they're in the care unit." Apollo smiled. "Doc's looking after them." He smiled.

"But I want to see them!" She attempted to sit up once more, only to feel burning pain where the stitches from her caesarean were. "Owww!" She whined.

"The others are outside." Apollo smiled.

"Let them in!" Ema called.

"I'm proud of you." He kissed her as he let go of her hand to open the door.

-x-x-

"Apollo, Ema? We have something for you!" The doctor was one Apollo and Ema had become familiar with over the last five weeks since Ema's illness. When she came in carrying two small children and a nurse behind her carrying the other they felt all the pain and anguish of Ema's pregnancy melt away.

Ema was handed two little boys, Apollo a much smaller baby girl. He smiled as the girl's fragile hand reached out towards his face, and felt fresh tears – those of joy trailing along his cheeks. He looked to Ema who, much to his relief was crying too.

"If you don't mind however, I'd like to keep you guys in the hospital for a while, we want to check to see if Ema's sickness has affected them in anyway, and keep an eye on Ema herself too." She turned to the nurse. "Let's leave the new family be." The nurse nodded and left.

-x-x-

It wasn't that they minded the others fussing over the small babies as much as they did but Ema and Apollo felt very defensive of their new children, and all they wanted to do was spend time alone with them.

They may have decided on names before they were born, but the three perfect little lives before them didn't deserve the name's they'd picked – they deserved better, the best.

The little girl would be named Cadence.

The energetic of the two boys called Aaron.

The quiet one would be named Xavier.

* * *

A/N – Hope this wasn't too bad, just to cover my backside a little here – I am a 16 year old with no younger siblings...

And the names are relevant later in the story…


	8. Notice

Ok, so I've been a thinking. And I have come to this decision, I feel this story stopped in a suitable enough place so I will mark it as complete and continue to focus my attention elsewhere.

If I get enough protests, or people just generally telling me it needs to be expanded, I will do so at a later date after I have moved some of my current projects out the way.

Please note, I also have a lot going on with taking care of my sick dad and exams and things, so I do have a lot less time to work on my projects than I would have done a year or so ago.

Please understand, although feel free to protest in a review etc. and I may change my mind.

Thank you kindly and I'm very sorry, EvilWaffleS


	9. six months old: Ema has a problem

A/N so sorry for putting this story on Hiatus and unfortunately I did lose a large number of my plans and only managed to scrounge a single plan for a much later chapter so for now I'll be winging it.

Ok, so since I'm now back in true epic fashion, I have decided I will be researching a few elements from this story, such as the info on postnatal depression – using information from the Health Service website we have here in the UK, so hopefully it will be reliable.

And as part of the fact I am grovelling etc. for people to forgive me, and the fact I have far too much time on my hand I shall be updating each story at least once a week.

* * *

Six months had flown by almost as if life had been a video and been set to fast forward. The babies had grown quickly, Cadence however was smaller than her brothers and this bothered Ema greatly.

It was lonely in the day without Apollo, Ema found it difficult to go anywhere alone as three small babies meant either one very large stroller or two smaller strollers. So most days, she sat with her babies, documenting their growth or watching daytime television when the babies slept.

When she was alone, she would think, and she would be scared. She wasn't sure if it was the reality of having triplets, or that she'd come to rely on Apollo so much she hated when he wasn't there. She also felt her mood becoming more unpredictable.

Not long after the babies were born, she experienced what everyone else had deemed "The Baby Blues" where she would often hide away and cry, burst into explosive rages at Apollo (or one occasion at her own sister) for simple and stupid things such as not waking up as soon as the alarm goes or putting the baby in the wrong cot (despite them all being the same). She would be very irritable and Apollo was careful to step around tricky subjects, such as when they were calculating how much childcare would cost once Ema returned to work, or when they were one hundred dollars short on the rent for the apartment thanks to the Wrights not paying Apollo on time. More importantly though, when her children would scream during the night for food or company, she would run off into the bathroom and cry. Apollo had panicked and asked Ema to go to the doctors, her sister however had talked him out of it, explaining most women would often be in this state after childbirth, as the sudden shock of the body returning to normal would often cause hormone imbalance.

"...But what if it doesn't stop?" Ema said to the empty room around her. "I still feel those things, I just hide them to make it easier on the others." She sighed. "I should probably tell Apollo, maybe he'd help me." She glanced up at the clock, 4 pm, nearly time for her wonderful man to return home.

-x-x-

"She's not better Lana." Apollo began as soon as the older, maturer of the Skye sisters answered the phone.

"Normal people decide to say hello first, on the off-chance my assistant may have answered the phone first." She took a sip of her only cup of coffee she permitted herself a day, placed it on the desk and prayed it didn't go cold before this conversation was over. "What do you expect me to do hun? I'm no psychiatrist. Besides, she looks better."

"To the outside world yes, but...I know she's lying." He twisted his bracelet on his arm slightly. "I react to her all the time."

"Is this your strange talent people have been telling me about? That you react to people's lies?"

"Well, not quite. I react to the nervous twitches we do subconsciously." Apollo hoped that would be a good enough explanation. "Anyways, back to Ema."

"Well, all I have to go on is that whole sister-bond stuff and I'm inclined to agree." Lana cheekily sipped down another mouthful of coffee, still quite hot, she noted this before continuing. "Maybe she has post natal depression? I had it, only not for this long."

"How did you know you had it? And it wasn't just that "Baby Blues" thingy?" Apollo asked.

"Well a friend of mine, who is a psychiatrist, diagnosed me with it."

"Where is this friend?"

"Across the state border unfortunately, she moved about a year ago." Lana went quiet for a moment. "She knows Ema quite well, I mean, me and her were good friends after our parents died, so I could always take Ema to see her, she'd soon know if anything was wrong."

"But that means Ema going away? Right?"

"Well yes, but it wouldn't be for long. Tell you what, I'll chat with her, tell her she needs a vacation, take her to see my friend while she's there." Lana offered. "As long as you're ok with being with the kids on your own for a while."

-x-x-

"I am not depressed!" Ema screamed at her sister. "There's nothing wrong!" Apollo sighed from behind the door of his triplet's room. He sat with Cadence on his knee and the two boys snuggled up in their cots, telling them a story and playing music quietly to block out the noise from the next room.

He had learned quickly that Cadence liked the music, she would smile when it was played, and she was closer to him than his two sons, they were much closer to their mother than Cadence was though.

Xavier was quiet while Apollo continued to tell his story to the babies, Apollo was never sure if the boy was asleep, or simply too bored to pay attention to his dad's ramblings about princesses and princes and castles and dragons to care. Still he continued anyway.

"A bear crawled out from the cave and all of a sudden Prince Aaron and Princess Cadence were terrified. The scary roar told them it was gonna be a big bear!" He sat a teddy bear on his knee beside his daughter. "But the bear did not hurt them, instead, it...tickled them!" And Cadence erupted with a sort of loud shriek somewhat akin to a giggle. "Then...the bear creeped towards the prince!" He lowered his daughter into her cot before going across the room to his son's cot. "...and the bear let out a roar, and told the prince he'd be a mighty warrior. But first...he tickled him! Then he poked him gently! Then the prince took the bear!" His son pulled the bear from his hand. "...And he cuddled him so tight the bear couldn't breathe!" His son clung to the bear tight, so tight that the head of the bear was bulging with all the extra stuffing that had been forced up there.

By the time he'd got the children to sleep and switched off the music, there was silence in the next room. Ema had willingly agreed to go, convinced a break would be just what she needed. She'd also written out a list of things to do for the kids everyday while she was gone.  
"There's some baby formula stuff in the cupboard, follow the instructions and stuff and everything will be fine." She smiled a genuine smile, the first Apollo had seen in a while.

"I'll come collect you in the morning, we'll book into a nice hotel by the river, and we'll have a good time, and we can test how good a daddy Apollo is."

"Sure, I have no cases so I'll have plenty of time to be around the kids, makes a change for filing paperwork all the time"

-x-x-

Apollo had retired to bed not long after that, leaving the two sisters to enjoy a glass of wine together. He could understand some of Ema's feelings, but on more than one occasion she had wished their kids were never there, which Apollo believed was bang out of order. He knew children were hard work, and he'd taken on more than his share of work since Ema had been getting bad. Sometimes, he missed the intimacy, that time spent together with a bottle of wine in front of the television, no words said, just the warm embrace saying everything that was needed. He missed the intimacy of the bedroom too, he wouldn't deny that, and he knew Ema did as well. But with the kids and a job, there was very little spare energy to be put into that little bit of snuggling and playfulness before sleep.

Still, tonight, as more of a farewell to her than anything, when he awoke to her hands caressing his arms and a gentle kissing at his neck, he did try to make an effort to satisfy the needs of both him and her. She looked pleasantly satisfied as she curled up in his arms, fast asleep afterwards. He kissed her forehead before letting the tug of tiredness pull him under as well, he knew she'd be getting treatment in the morning, and she wouldn't be there when he woke up.

But he hoped when he saw her again, she'd be back to normal, and able to function as the mother he knew she could be

* * *

TADA! I'm back see! Anyways, as stated above, will post an update at least once a week, and yeah...leave reviews and stuff please even if they're just to say welcome back to me! I've missed you guys so much!

Anyways, sorry about this one being shorter, but hopefully the next chapter will be able to make up for it.


	10. Six months: Ema's Return and the Cat

A/N again, sorry for the lateness I've been having a rough time at home recently, so I've been putting these updates off as much as I can, anyways, now here I am

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Immediately when she returned home, she dumped her suitcase and all of her bags at the door and rushed to greet Apollo and her children. She held the two boys and Apollo held Cadence and pulled Ema into a hug, the change in Ema's attitude towards her children had been almost instant. Apollo was more than just a little proud of his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry Apollo, you must have been struggling just as much as me." Ema smiled.

"It's fine, I've missed you, and I'm exhausted, these three are hard work." Apollo smiled shyly.

It had been two weeks of therapy for Ema, and a week of that was simply getting her to admit she had a problem, still, through talking she had managed to alleviate herself of her fears and her depression.

"Have they been trouble?" Ema asked as she kissed the two boys and then her daughter.

"Uh...no...no." Apollo smiled.

-x-x-

It was merely an hour after Ema had left, Apollo had noticed the kids were so tired, so had put them back to bed, and thought it would be a good time to boot up his laptop and sort out a few notes and write-ups he was doing for work. About thirty minutes later there was a shrill cry from the nursery, so he pulled himself up and found Cadence squealing, the boys were either ignoring her very well or still asleep so he had decided to take her back into the living area to work with him for a bit.

He put the CD player on in the hope it would keep her quiet and content and continued to type out his reports. He noticed that as he typed, his daughter followed his hand movements with her eyes, and soon began copying his hand movements. He laughed and shuffled her further down his knee before his muscles ached. When the phone rang, he turned his head to see where it was and as he reached out he noticed that his daughter was hitting the keys.

Then he heard the beep, the familiar beep that was signifying someone had pressed the delete button.

Cadence began giggling in delight, almost as if she knew that she had just deleted her fathers work for the last few reports.

"Damn!" He glanced down at his daughter. "You clever little demon."

-x-x-

Trucy had found it funny about Cadence deleting her father's work, so much so she managed to stick a sign over his computer saying "Bested by a baby" when she came to visit him two days later. She and Apollo had decided to take the babies out to the park for a picnic, since it was such a glorious day.

She had bought some chocolate brownies her and her dad had made at home, she had also made some sandwiches for her and Apollo and Apollo had bought all the stuff for the kids. Things were going fine until during the picnic Aaron and Xavier had decided to start picking at the grass and throwing it at each other.

While it had left a mess everywhere and Apollo's clothes were covered in grass, leaking green onto the blue denim jeans and white shirt he had been wearing, there had been no injuries and eve Xavier was giggling in delight.

So, they decided to take the kids to a café and that was the most embarrassing experience Apollo had ever had. All three children had erupted into a chorus of crying mixed with giggling. Apollo, red faced, had managed to stop them and calm them down after what were easily the worse ten minutes since he had become a father.

-x-x-

As they climbed into bed that night, Ema cuddled against Apollo's chest, she began to giggle.

"What?"

"They were little demons for you weren't they?"

"Yeah."

"God they're definitely your kids." She laughed. "You said you were a hassle growing up."

"H-hey!"

"I bet you weren't that-" she was cut off by the light snoring coming from Apollo. "You ass." She fell asleep soon after.

The new day spelt a new problem, a problem being Ema's animal obsession. She had found a stray cat while Apollo was at work. He had seen this cat a few times, jumping across the balconies and assumed it to be a neighbour's cat. She had left food out on the balcony for the cat, obviously meaning it stuck around in the hope for more, and it had been out sunning itself, back pressed against the glass sliding doors that led to the balcony, until mid afternoon.

When Trucy was on her way home from school, she would often stop by to say hello to Ema and the babies. That afternoon was no exception, she dropped her bag by the door and kicked off her shoes and immediately rushed up to Xavier and Aaron, who were stacking blocks.

"Hi Xavier, hi Aaron." Trucy declared loudly. The babies merely acknowledged her with a glance.

"What animal makes the sound moo?" Ema asked her daughter, who pointed to the picture of a cow in her book. "Well done Cadence."

When Trucy turned to face the two female occupants of the house, she happened to glance at the mound of fur sat at the bottom of the glass doors.

"I didn't know you and Apollo bought a cat." Trucy asked as she plucked Cadence up from the couch and took her seat.

"We didn't. I think it's a stray, or a neighbour's cat." Ema replied.

"Well it seems pretty chilled on your balcony there." Trucy pointed out.

"Well...hm...Trucy, will you keep an eye on these three for a minute?"

"Sure, what are you going to do?" She asked.

"If the cat is friendly, I might just take it to all the people in the building and ask if it's theirs." The apartment building was small with only twelve apartments spread over four floors.

The cat had not objected to being picked up, and had purred contently once properly supported in Ema's arms.

"He seems nice." Ema tickled him behind the ears. "Well I better see if he has an owner."

Of all the apartments in the building, including hers and Apollo's, only eight had their occupants inside. None of which had claimed ownership of the cat. Now Ema had a cat curled up in her lap, and she knew Apollo would be peeved she had let it in. Trucy had done Ema a favour and pushed a note through the doors of the apartments that she had got no response from with a description of the cat and a note saying the cat had been found on the balcony.

-x-x-

"What the hell is that thing?" Apollo asked shocked as Ema put the cat on the floor to give him a kiss.

"It's a cat, Apollo!" Trucy giggled.

"Get it away from the-" He was about to object to it being near the kids, until he saw Xavier petting it on the head.

Like all loving and devoted parents, the two of them panicked at first, and rushed forward to yank the cat up should it react to the boy's touch and scratch. To their surprise, it bowed it's head, retracted its claws and laid down before him. He pulled its ears gently, and still earned no more of a reaction than a quiet purr.

The best thing about this, Xavier was smiling and giggling with delight with the reaction to the cat. They had never seen such a positive reaction from the quiet boy.

"Wow...I've never seen him act like that." Ema smiled brightly at her boyfriend. Now both of them were relaxed.

"That's so cool!" Trucy declared. The other two were now petting at the cat, it continued to purr in delight as three sets of tiny hands petted and tugged gently on his fur.

"I'll keep an eye on them." Apollo smiled up at Ema has he knelt down by his children, who briefly ignored the cat to acknowledge their father, the cat crawled up into Apollo's lap and he, and the babies were petting the cat.

"I'll start dinner, Trucy are you staying?"

"Sure, daddy's out tonight, so thanks, I'd love it." Trucy felt briefly dejected.

It was late evening, when the babies were put to bed and Ema and Apollo were relaxing together, the cat taking pride of place across their laps and they were discussing what would happen if nobody in the building or the surrounding area claimed him.

"I guess we could." Apollo was coming round to the idea of having the cat, although it had taken a lot of persuasion. A knock at the door stopped their conversation.

Ema opened the door to the young woman and her daughter that lived in apartment one.

"I found this note today. I have a feeling this is my daughter's cat, he went missing about three weeks ago." The woman handed Ema the note. "Is the cat here?"

"Apollo, come here for a sec." Apollo scooped the cat into his arms and bought it over.

"Churchill!" The little girl cried out, the cat reacted instantly and leapt down from his arms. "Oh thank you so much for finding him!"

"I'm so sorry for any trouble we've put you through, we've been looking for a new apartment, so we've not been spending too long at home. I think Churchill got a bit annoyed about the fact we weren't spending time with him." The woman explained. "I'm so sorry, you're the Justice family, right? You have kids too?"

"Yes, triplets, six months old." Ema tried not to look disheartened about the cat having to return home.

"He's amazing with children, isn't he? He's still a kitten himself." The woman chuckled. Ema smiled and nodded before excusing herself to check on her children.

"Look after him, won't you?" Apollo knelt down to the little girl.

"I promise mister, thanks for looking after him."

"Have a good evening now." Apollo smiled.

"Hey, excuse me, can I have a word?" The woman asked.

"Of course." He stood up.

"Sweetie, go back home ok, take Churchill with you." The little girl nodded and headed off down the hall. "Listen, I know this is rude of me to ask, but I'm worried Churchill may break free again during the day, he's good with dogs and things if you have any other pets...would you be willing to keep an eye on him during the day?"

"I can't say for sure, I mean, I'm working, so my girlfriend would be the one to ask?"

Ema had not hesitated to say yes, offering to take care of Churchill whenever she was needed.

"I'll bring some stuff with him in the morning, until then, have a good Friday evening." The woman smiled brightly.

"Hey...Ema, maybe we should think about getting a pet of our own? I was thinking a full grown dog? It'd keep you company when the babies are asleep and if it keeps Xavier all happy and smiling."

"...Really?" Ema smiled.

"Sure, we'll look for one in the morning." Apollo kissed her forehead.


End file.
